Death Incarnate
by KitsuneGirl911
Summary: There are a string of murders among the group. No one knows who it is, but they are all being killed off slowly... This is a dark murder mystery fic, with a bit of gory detail, so if you don't like that sort of thing, don't read it. Rated for that reason.


Death Incarnate

By: Kitsunegirl911

Started: Sunday, April 17, 2005, 2:52:51 PM

Finished: Saturday, June 25, 2005, 10:30:11 PM

* * *

Anna sighed in annoyance.

"YOH! Can't you do anything right? I told you to get three plates! NOT THIRTY!"

Yoh quivered in fear.

"Well…It could happen to anyone-"

"Just how, might I ask, could anyone possibly get 'three' and 'thirty' mixed up? They sound nothing alike!"

Just then Amidamaru floated by, interrupting Anna's verbal berating of Yoh. Anna gave him a cold stare.

'"I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?"'

Anna just stared harder.

'So scary!' the samurai spirit thought as he quickly made his exit.

/----------------------

Anna was _really_ becoming annoying lately Yoh decided as he scrubbed the kitchen floor…with a toothbrush. Scratch that, she had _always_ been annoying. It was just an honest mistake! He could swear she said thirty… He sighed and continued to scrub, his hands already beginning to hurt.

"Yoh?"

Yoh looked up. There stood Faust, his faithful skeleton dog beside him.

"What are you doing? Wouldn't it be easier to use something else? You would be finished a lot sooner you know…"

Yoh looked down dejectedly.

"I can't. I messed something up, and Anna made me do this. And I _have_ to use the toothbrush…"

Faust frowned. How could she do this? Surely he hadn't done something too bad, it just wasn't like him.

"What did you do that merited this punishment?"

"I mistook three plates for thirty…"

Faust frowned even more.

"That's not right…Your hands must hurt quite a bit."

Indeed, Yoh's hands had an angry red hue to them.

"Let me help…" Faust got up to get a cloth to wash with.

Yoh was shocked. 'Doesn't he realize-?'

"Anna will _kill_ you if she finds out!"

Faust didn't look up from his spot on the floor.

"Then that's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides, I'm close to twenty years her elder."

Yoh thought it over for a while. He supposed that was true, no matter how much Faust felt like one of his teen friends, he was an adult.

There was a tense silence.

"Um… Thanks Faust."

Faust smiled brightly, though his eyes still held their usual gloom.

"It's no problem."

They worked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, each leaving the other to their thoughts.

'I wish I didn't actually have to marry her… How did I get stuck with her anyway? A perfect match? Ha. As if.' He scrubbed harder in frustration.

Faust, meanwhile, was thinking roughly the same thing.

'How could she treat her own fiancé so harshly? It's one thing to be strict, but this is near torture!'

They finally finished a few minutes later, able to stretch at last. It was quiet until Frankensteiny suddenly started whining. Faust looked up in confusion.

"Frankie? What is it? Is something wrong?"

Frankie continued to whine, but tugged on Faust's jacket a little.

"I think he wants us to go this way…"

They followed the insistent dog down the hall. Everything seemed unnaturally quiet.

"Something's wrong here…" Yoh commented.

"I agree. Something just doesn't feel right…"

Frankie began nosing at one of the many doors.

"That's Anna's room. What could possibly have happened to her?"

"I don't know Faust, but whatever it is; it seems we're going to find out…"

As he said this the door swung open. The room's interior was dark; they could barely see the outlines of her furniture. Her dresser to the left, a small desk to the right, and her bed in the corner. A barely distinguishable figure lay on the bed.

Yoh heaved a sigh of relief; however, Faust caught his shoulder before he could walk away.

"Yoh. Look harder."

Yoh looked at Faust questioningly, but the elder man's face showed no emotion, no clues as to what he should see. Anna was sleeping on her bed, her breathing coming slo- Yoh's eyes widened. She wasn't breathing.

"Anna!" Yoh flicked on the lights, soon wishing he hadn't as he recoiled in disgust. She had been brutally mangled.

Her arms were twisted at an unnatural angle, obviously broken. Her skin was stained with blood; it's source her slashed jugular. Her windpipe was exposed; her jaw was crushed and broken. Her once blond hair was matted with blood, making it a tangled stiff mess. But the worst part… The worst part was her eyes.

"Her eyes…" Faust said in shock, trembling slightly.

"Her eyes? Oh my god!"

Her eyes were ripped out of their sockets, hanging down the sides of her face in twin trails of blood.

Yoh stood in shock and horror, unable to tear his gaze away, no matter how much he tried, no matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't do it.

"No…Anna…"

Faust quickly turned Yoh around and shut the door, still slightly shaking.

"W-we should t-tell the others…Who would do this…?"

Yoh shook his head slowly.

"I don't know…I don't know…I feel like I'm gonna be sick…"

Faust gave him a worried look.

"We have to get you somewhere else…"

He gently guided Yoh back up the hall to the now clean kitchen, where Yoh proceeded to heave in a well-placed bucket. Faust just sank down the wall to the floor, his hands over his face, trying to think of something else…_Anything_ else. All he could remember was how he found his beloved Eliza that night… The blood was everywhere… Eliza… Her expression was indelibly etched into his mind; he would _never_ be able to forget it.

But oh! How he wished it would leave him! To never plague his dreams at night so he could finally sleep with no worries! To be forever rid of the pain and terror that marred her beautiful face…

Faust sat up. Why was it that the only time he waxed poetic was when he was talking about death? He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

'Never mind that, I have to take care of Yoh…'

"Yoh? Yoh? We have to tell the others… Come on Yoh…"

Yoh finally stood, albeit a little distractedly.

"I guess I don't have to marry her now do I?"

"No…"

They made their way to the main hall slowly, dazedly.

"Everyone, something terrible has happened!" Faust shouted, breaking the other residents from whatever they had been doing, calling them into the nightmare. One by one they poked their heads out of their doors, taking in their appearance, noticing the haunted expressions.

"What happened?"

"Yeah, and it better be important…."

"I assure you, it is," He paused. "Miss Anna…Is dead."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"W-what do you mean?"

"This is a joke right?"

"Is this true Yoh?"

"Yoh?"

Yoh looked up, his voice steeped with a grim sort of humor.

"Of course she is…No more training for me…Ever." He started to laugh in a morbid way, breaking off into harsh sobs. No one knew what to say, to do. It seemed like this was all a dream; that they would wake up the next morning to Anna's yelling and continue training.

"I…I don't believe it! How did she die?" HoroHoro asked.

"She was murdered. By who, I don't know… One moment she was scolding Yoh, the next she was dead…" Faust trailed off in despair. How did this happen? Who would do this? Why did Yoh deserve this? Why did _Anna_ deserve this?

"Well, I'm not just going to sit here and take his word for it; I'm going to see for myself!"

Faust jerked up in shock.

"That's not advisable; she was entirely mutilated by this person!"

HoroHoro just snorted and walked away.

"I'm still not going to just take your word for it, I'll decide once I see her! Unless this is all a trick?" He turned around sharply, pointing an accusing finger at the doctor. "Is that it? Is this all just some sick joke?"

"N-no…I-It's not! I'm doing this for your own good!"

HoroHoro ignored him and pushed open the door revealing the room's contents. The light was still on. HoroHoro's expression was now one of shock and horror instead of bold defiance. He slammed the door shut quickly.

"Oh…my God…" He breathed, as he started trembling.

Faust sighed.

"I tried…"

"What should we do? Sitting here in depression isn't accomplishing much…" Ren stated in annoyance.

"We should call the police!"

"…We don't have a phone."

"Are you serious Yoh?"

"Yes. Unfortunately enough…"

"Great, just great…"

Faust looked down at Yoh, who was still leaning on him. He didn't seem to be in the best of shape.

"Yoh? Yoh, do you think it would be better to lie down?"

Yoh looked up and answered detachedly,

"Sure…sure…I don't care…"

Faust looked up as well.

"Would someone allow me to put him in their room for a while? I don't think it would be good for him to go back to his room yet… Never mind, I'll just put him in my room. I don't use my bed…"

Before he could enter his room entirely Ryu spoke up.

"Are you saying that you don't sleep?"

Faust gave him a level stare.

"Not since Eliza died."

Ryu frowned.

"Now that's not healthy, as a doctor, you should know that…"

It was Faust's turn to frown, but he didn't reply, just turned around, leaving the others to discuss what should be done. He tucked Yoh in, making sure he was okay, at least as okay as he could be in this situation. All seemed well, he wasn't about to do something drastic, like suicide. He reentered the hall and quietly closed the door behind him. Everyone stared at him.

"What?"

"We decided to put someone up for watch duty tonight… And we figured…We figured that…" Pirka started tentatively, unable to finish.

"We picked you because you don't sleep anyway." Ren finished. After all it _was_ his idea.

Faust blinked a few times.

"Um… Alright. I guess that makes sense… But what do we do with her body?"

Ren paused.

"I hadn't thought of that…"

"Heh, you idiot. I thought you knew the answer to everything!"

"I do! Eventually!"

"At least you're back to normal again brother…But why do you two always fight!"

Her question went unanswered. Faust's however, didn't.

"Well, we could cremate her, but I don't want to have to do that…"

"We could bury her…"

They thought for a while. Finally they agreed on burial, as long as Faust did it. (He secretly liked digging graves. He figured that bit of information didn't need to be shared.)

"That's not fair though!" Pirka exclaimed.

Faust smiled.

"I don't mind, I just think she would like whatever was going to be done be done soon, yes?"

"I guess so…"

"Then I might as well get to it…Under the cherry tree is a good spot right? And I'll need a shovel…"

No one objected, as that was where she used to sit and watch sunsets when she was in good moods.

"There's one outside somewhere, I used it for the garden a while ago. I'll go get it for you." Pirka offered.

"Thank you. A grave marker would also be in order… I'll let Yoh do it when he feels up to it." He followed Pirka outside, trying not to feel too relaxed about this, which was odd. He missed Anna, but he felt no anxiety over her burial. Maybe he had become too hung up on death… He shook himself out of his thoughts as Pirka handed him the shovel.

He began the lengthy process of digging, pausing only a few times. Digging graves never seemed to tire him at all. Just keeping track of depth was important. Too shallow, the dirt could wash away; too deep, the ground was too hard, too uneven, too far away from the living. Soon, or at least it felt soon, he was finished. Now to put her body to rest.

He walked back inside, and headed to Anna's room. He paused.

"Perhaps you should go somewhere else…So you wouldn't have to see…Or maybe it wouldn't matter?"

HoroHoro began twitching, remembering the way she looked in death. He chose to go into his room. Pirka and Manta followed.

"I'll help you carry her. If you need me to."

Faust smiled in gratitude.

"Thank you Ryu, but it won't be necessary."

He opened the door, grimacing in disgust. If there was even one thing he could dislike about being near death, it would be the smell. But he had business to do. He wrapped her up in a clean sheet, then proceeded on to the hallway, then past Ren and Ryu. Ren was fairly calm about the blood stains seeping through, but Ryu was pretty freaked out, though he tried to hide it.

Faust looked at him.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to Ryu…"

Ryu shook his head.

"I want to. Anna was like a sister to me…I am…Entirely in her debt…"

Faust nodded and continued, the two other boys trailing behind.

They got to the grave site and stopped. No one moved for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Then Faust gave Ryu one end to hold and they slowly let Anna down. Ren filled the grave back up with dirt. They each said a prayer for her and left.

It began to rain, almost as if the very heavens mourned the death of Anna Kyouyama.

/----------------------

The group sat in the main room. There was another uncomfortable silence.

'"Is Yoh-dono alright?"' Amidamaru was slightly worried about how Yoh was taking all of this. After all, Anna _was _his fiancée.

"Oh, he's alright. Don't worry; I'll let you know if that changes."

Ren was skeptical.

"How can you be sure? You haven't been in your room since you put him in there!"

"Why do people always doubt me? I left Frankie in there with him. He will let me know if something's wrong."

Ren was puzzled.

"Frankie?"

"He's my dog, Frankensteiny."

Ren was still confused.

"You have a dog? How come we never see it?"

Faust smiled.

"I didn't think you'd _want_ to see him. He's not exactly normal… Perhaps when Yoh feels better I'll introduce you two…"

Manta shivered in remembrance of the past.

"You mean _that_ dog?"

"Of course. I have no other…Oh Manta… You know I wouldn't try that again… Don't worry."

Manta nodded reluctantly.

The others were confused.

"Wow, Faust, I just thought about it; I don't really know anything about you…"

Everyone else nodded

"Ah, this explains the doubt." Faust stated cheerfully.

"I guess so…"

"Well I think there shouldn't be any doubt at all! We should all know each other at least a little!" Ryu paused. "What?"

Ren sighed.

"At the moment we have more important things to do… Like figure out how to catch this 'mystery killer'!"

Ryu grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry…"

Faust looked around at the worn out group.

"Perhaps you should all go to bed… This has been a very trying day…On all of us."

Everyone stopped arguing and looked at themselves. Dreary expressions all around. Without any protest, they went to their respected rooms for a well deserved rest. Ryu stayed behind.

"Are you sure you want to keep watch? I will if you don't want to…"

Faust smiled warmly.

"No, no it's quite alright. You need the rest."

Ryu still looked concerned.

"Well if you're going to be out here, do you want anything? A blanket or something?"

Faust considered it. It would get pretty cold in the large open room…

"That would be nice."

Ryu's face lit up.

"Alright! One blanket coming up!"

A few seconds later he returned, carrying a large fuzzy blue blanket.

"Well…Don't forget to watch out for yourself too!"

Faust laughed. A _real_ laugh.

"I seem to have a problem with that, but I'll try. Goodnight Ryu!"

"Yeah, 'night Faust."

After that, all was silent.

Faust sat, wrapped in his blanket, shielding himself from the cold that creeped in through the walls. He looked out the window. There was a full moon that night.

Faust sighed heavily. Another long night ahead. It seemed to last an eternity as if time itself stopped, mocking him. He looked outside. It seemed the moon was the only source of light, everywhere else the darkness seemed to suck up everything. The way Death shrouds over everyone, the way Death took Eliza. He could feel her sometimes. Reaching for him, reaching, but stopping just short of him. She was so close, yet so far away.

'Ah, the cruel irony that is Life…'

He had lost track of time…He was hopelessly swallowed up by the night and was gone to its whims. Though it seemed, not everyone was. He could see someone's silhouette, but it was only HoroHoro. Up for a glass of water no doubt.

"You're up early…"

HoroHoro chocked on his water.

"GYAAAA!" He paused, breathing heavily, searching the impenetrable darkness in vain. Faust got up and made his way over to the Ainu boy.

"It's only me…"

The boy jumped up in shock, twisting around to face his 'attacker'.

"F-Faust? I forgot you were there…" He was still breathing heavily. "Next time try not to scare me so much, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry. That was not my intention…"

HoroHoro waved him off.

"It's okay. Just remember next time."

Faust nodded.

"I will."

"Good."

And with that, HoroHoro left.

'I have the feeling he will never trust me…'

He realized that he was a little stiff from sitting for so long, so he decided to pace, keeping his boots as quiet as possible. He started to sing quietly.

"Ah, in the darkness I walk

Is time stopped in sleep?

A long night is, again, ahead

You and I may have to wait"

He sighed as he finished. How he longed for the embrace of his wife. He longed for her to comfort him now…To sing with him of happier things, to _be_ with him… But it wasn't reality yet. And he feared that it never would be. But he couldn't give up. He could never give up. Faust stopped pacing and sat back down in his previous spot, wrapping back up in his blanket.

"Never."

It seemed almost another eternity as he waited for someone to wake up. Finally, in what he assumed to be the morning hours, someone did. The outline was that of Ren. It was obvious with his outrageous pointy hair style.

He giggled aloud at that. Why is it that a simple word like that could make him laugh? Pointy. He giggled again. It seemed to put Ren on edge.

"Who's there?"

Faust shook his head reproachfully.

"Don't you people remember? You put me here for guard duty. Your idea I believe…"

Ren looked over to the corner where the voice came from. All he could see was a pair of bright blue eyes. Watching him. Staring into his soul. He could see nothing else, nor tear his gaze away.

"Of course I did." He lied.

Faust sighed, closing his eyes and breaking the spell that seemed to be over the Chinese boy.

"You don't have to lie…It makes you look weaker. You don't want that… do you?" Ren glared at him. "I thought not."

"I'm not weak!"

Faust smiled coldly.

"I never said you were…"

"Oh never mind then! It's no wonder no one knows much about you."

Faust sat up, staring at him again.

"What do you mean?" He seemed genuinely confused.

'Doesn't this guy get it?'

"You're hard to get used to. You're always the same though. What does that say to you?"

Faust smiled again.

"That I like the way you think."

"That's not where I was leading… But thanks anyway…"

"Sie sind willkommen."

Ren walked to the kitchen muttering,

"Crazy German…"

"I'm not crazy!"

'How the _hell_ did he hear me?'

He looked back. Faust wasn't any closer.

"How did-"

"I've heard nothing but silence for the last eight hours or so. Anything sounds loud now. Including voices. I can hear every last motion you make… Every time you blink…Breathe… Your heart beats… I hear it… I can hear it stop… Irregularities…" Faust paused, searching Ren's face for his reaction. "Is this surprising?"

Ren shook his head.

"No, just freaky…" Ren felt completely exposed. He could_ feel_ Faust watching him… Listening to him… It was driving him insane. Well, pretty close to insane.

Finally it just happened. One moment, he was searching through the fridge for some milk, the next he had the doctor by his collar.

"God damn it! Stop _watching_ me! Stop _listening_ to me! Or I will _make_ you stop! Do you have any idea what I want to do to you? When I get through with you-"

"Ren!" Ryu walked in, awoken by Ren's threats and incessant yelling.

"What are you doing?"

Ren swung around. He had a crazed look in his eyes.

"I'm getting him to stop… He's _listening_ to me! _Staring_ at me!"

Ryu frowned.

"So what if he's listening to you? You're talking to him! And he's not staring at you. He just doesn't blink that often! Just leave him alone!"

Ren scowled.

'In Ryu's eyes, Faust can do no wrong.'

"Fine!" Ren stormed off, pushing past HoroHoro, who stared at the boy's retreating back.

"Faust being creepy again?"

"Hey! I just finished telling Ren off for that!"

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it! It was a joke, you know?"

"I'm not that creepy, am I?" Faust questioned softly.

His question went unheard.

However the other two weren't so lucky. Yoh came out of Faust's room; he was rubbing at his eyes, but didn't seem to have been crying.

"Thanks for letting me use your bed…"

"You're welcome Yoh. But you needed it, and I didn't… So you shouldn't thank me too much… But you can use it as much as you want to. Don't worry. I rather like it out here…" He trailed off, a peculiar look on his face.

Yoh blinked.

"Um… Okay then…"

"I wonder if Ren is still mad at me… He did want to see Frankie…"

"I would give him a bit longer Fausty. He's been known to be mad for days."

Faust was confused and surprised.

"Fausty?"

HoroHoro smiled.

"It's a nickname. You know, like friends give each other? Like it?"

Faust still looked shocked.

"I've never had a nickname…Or a friend…" Faust looked depressed.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't cry man! If you don't want me to call you that-"

Faust looked up.

"Oh no, it's alright… You've mistaken my reaction. I don't dislike it."

He still looked depressed.

"Hey, I'm your friend too ya' know!" Ryu exclaimed, followed by Yoh.

"Me too!"

Faust gave another, rare, real smile.

"I'm very lucky to have friends like you…"

"I still can't believe it though. How can you not have any friends?"

Ryu was shocked.

"How can you not have any tact?"

HoroHoro smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Fausty. Didn't mean anything by it…"

"It's quite alright, I'm not offended… I was just never well liked… Always cursed with a name I didn't deserve… An evil I didn't earn. No one wanted to be with the 'devil child'." He smiled wryly. "I guess that could be called a nick name couldn't it. Ah well. I had one friend I guess, though she was never going to grow up." He paused, and with the others' questioning looks, he elaborated. "She was going to die before she even lived. My dear Eliza. I had only her for twenty years. For twenty years she was my only friend. I had given up hope completely on ever finding anyone else who wouldn't hate for just my name… Though later, I began to grow into my name… I became like my ancestor, the first Faust. His love was cursed and so was mine. I guess they were right to assume that I was who I was…" His eyes welled up with unshed tears.

"Look Faust, That's the past. Your future is not as bleak. You have friends. A _home_." Yoh stressed the last word, gesturing around the room.

"Don't cry…Fausty."

HoroHoro only seemed to make Faust burst into tears. But even as he sobbed uncontrollably, he smiled. It reached his eyes, making him seem like a normal person, albeit a quite fragile one. His eyes were missing their usual deep sadness and pain, only holding happiness and gratitude.

"Thank you so much… Thank you all… I-I…I don't know what to say…"

Yoh smiled.

"You don't have to say anything."

/----------------------

Eventually everyone woke up, not much worse for the wear from the previous day's events. Two surprising things happened though. Ren wasn't mad at Faust any more; and Faust couldn't stop smiling, he was so happy.

"Do you want to see Frankensteiny now?" Faust asked cheerfully after breakfast.

"Sure, glad you remembered. Heh, not like you to forget though is it?"

"Not really."

Ren was led into Faust's room and the door shut behind him. Not too long afterwards, a yell pierced the air.

"_That's_ 'Frankie'?"

HoroHoro laughed quietly.

"Serves him right…Though I'm curious too…"

The door swung open.

Ren walked out first, acting as if he hadn't just yelled out in shock, Faust following behind. He stopped just at the doorway and turned around.

"It's alright now Frankie… At least I think it is… You can come out for a while…"

An excited bark issued from the depths of the room, then a fast clicking noise.

"Huh? What's that?"

Pirka and Ryu turned around to find the source of the noise, just in time to see Frankie run out the door. Their jaws dropped.

"That's 'Frankie'?" They said in unison, not noticing they did so.

Faust shook his head.

"I keep a list of all the people who've said that… It's sad that it's so long…"

Ryu was still dumbstruck, but Pirka was able to ask,

"What kind of dog is it?"

'A dead one.' Manta thought.

"He is Doberman Pinscher. Hard to tell now, isn't it?" He smiled brightly, lightly petting his dog.

"Wow! That's neat! I heard they are great guard dogs! So that's why you trusted him to watch Yoh!"

Faust nodded.

"How do you keep him going so long? You'd run out of mana very soon…"

Faust shook his head.

"Not quite, I use very, very little mana on him. I could use enough to put flesh on him, but that's just a waste. This way he's here, but using less than one percent of my total mana. It is easily regenerated."

HoroHoro was confused.

"So do you have to tell him to do everything? That must be hard…"

"Not really, his soul is still with me… He just needs my energy to keep his bones together…"

"Oh…"

Faust sat down, his dog resting on his lap.

"Let's get back to the matter at hand shall we? Let's not forget Poor Anna's untimely death…"

Everyone was jerked back into reality. Funny how some things can do that to you.

"Right. I thought about this, and ruled out all of us, as we all have strong alibis. So it has to be someone out there. But who would want to do this?"

Everyone thought hard. Not too long…But hard.

"Hey Ren! Maybe it was one of the ghosts!"

Ren nodded.

"Seems logical enough-"

"But ghosts can't hurt you unless they're very strong or working with a shaman. And there are very few strong ghosts like that."

"You're right, but that still means that there is a possibility of a ghost doing this. Maybe they didn't want to come back. Maybe they wanted revenge."

"So what you're saying is that one of the ghosts _here_ wanted revenge?"

Ren nodded.

"So now that they have it, what if they still can't go back? We can all see ghosts here, so we could try looking for it!"

Everyone thought about that for a while.

"That's a good idea!"

"Yeah!"

"I'll help…"

So everyone was given an area to search, though Manta and Pirka stayed in the main room, as they had no guardian ghosts. Ryu was sent to the far end of the hall, Ren to the middle, and Faust to the closer end. HoroHoro got stuck with the basement, and Yoh looked outside.

Before Yoh left, he told HoroHoro something.

"Um…Just to let you know, there's no power down there… Sorry man. But don't worry, it'll be fine!" He exclaimed, with his usual carefree attitude.

After about ten minutes, almost everyone was back where they started.

'Darn it,' HoroHoro thought as he wandered around the dark and musty basement. 'I bet everyone else is done by now…Stupid power. At least I got a flashlight…'

He started muttering in annoyance.

" 'Don't worry' he says. ' It'll be fine' he says. Feh. Hey! What the-"

/----------------------

"Where's my brother?" Pirka questioned anxiously.

"I don't know, maybe he got lost down there?"

When another few minutes had passed, she became worried again.

"Where is he? I hope he's not taking a nap or something…"

Faust stood up.

"I'll look for him."

"Thank you." She smiled gratefully, feeling a little better already.

Faust walked down the dark steps, hearing them creak with each footfall. The room was obviously very old and had a musty scent to it, but he smelled something else… Something familiar… But it couldn't be. He saw a shape in front of him but it was too tall to be the Ainu boy he was looking for. He shined his flashlight on it to get a better look. Then he screamed.

Manta perked up.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounded like a scream!"

"Oh my Gosh! HoroHoro! Is he alright?"

"Here, I'll go check it out… Stay up here incase something bad happened down there…"

Ryu then descended the old stairway, instantly catching sight of Faust.

"Faust? Was that you? What happened?"

Faust looked up fearfully, his eyes wide and his body shaking. He pointed in front of him.

"HoroHoro…H-He's…D-d-dead!"

"Dea-AHH!"

He took a good look at the body before him. It hung from the ceiling from a noose, and was obviously dead. But that wasn't all. Both of the boy's wrists were cut, and his clothes and body were shredded as well. The worst part was his face. His eyes were missing, and his mouth was cut wider, hanging open in a sick parody of his usual grin. Kororo was nowhere to be found.

"Oh my God…Who would do this…Why…? Hey, are you going to be okay?"

Faust gave no answer. He just continued to shake, his eyes still unnaturally wide.

"Look, I don't think you're in any shape to walk up the stairs, so I'm going to carry you. Okay?"

Faust just gave a tiny nod of approval, so Ryu decided he wouldn't react harshly to being carried. He was right, and he was surprised at how light the doctor was.

'Doesn't this guy eat?'

But he couldn't complain too much, as it was a long way to get upstairs again. By the time Ryu got to the last step, Faust had calmed down significantly, though Ryu wasn't sure how long that would last.

"Where's HoroHoro?" Pirka rushed forward, peering behind Ryu, down the still darkened steps.

"Why the hell are you carrying him?" Ren asked loudly, obviously a bit weirded out.

Ryu sighed and set Faust down, who promptly curled up into a ball.

"I think he's in shock…Because…because… HoroHoro is dead."

Pirka gasped.

"No! It can't be! It just can't be! I don't believe you!" She yelled, tears streaming from her eyes, even as she denied what she knew was true deep in her heart. "He's going to be the Shaman King! He's not dead! You're lying!" Soon Pirka was crying too hard to make coherent speech.

"HoroHoro's dead?" Ren asked in disbelief. "He's actually dead?"

Ryu nodded slowly.

"No… But that would mean whatever it is, it's down there… At least his death wasn't wasted…" For whatever reason, Ren seemed shaken up over this. Meanwhile, Pirka sat still with a look on her face worse than that on Faust when Ryu first found him. However Faust seemed to be sorting him self out, he stopped shaking and he wasn't completely out of it. Suddenly, Pirka jumped up and ran off. A few seconds later, Faust did the same.

"No! Pirka you don't have to do this!" He shouted as he scrambled to his feet.

Everyone was confused.

"Don't have to do what?"

"Oh shit! She might be trying to kill herself!" Ryu exclaimed in alarm.

"What?"

"Oh my God!"

Everyone scrambled up and ran to the kitchen, where they were greeted with a tense scene. Pirka was backed up against the wall, holding a knife up to her chest, ready to bring it down at any moment, tears still streaming down her face. Faust was on the other side of the room pleading with her to stop.

"No! Trust me, suicide won't help anything! Do you think your brother would have wanted this? You might not even meet him in the afterlife!"

She didn't back down.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take! I won't be like you Faust! I won't just let my self hang on to false hope, wasting away slowly! You're a doctor! I'm just carrying out self euthanasia!" She swiftly brought the knife down, though it seemed to play in slow motion to the others, who almost simultaneously shouted.

"No!"

"Pirka no!"

"No! Don't do it!"

But it was too late. The blade plunged through her heart with a sickening crunch and she smirked triumphantly as the blood spewed forth, drenching her entire body with red. Faust had seemed to go into shock again, but he reached forward and tried to save her, even as she fought to die. She ripped out the bloodied knife and brandished it at the doctor, but he wouldn't give up, no matter how many times he was cut. The others stayed back in fear of making things worse. Soon the fight drained out of her eyes and the life drained from her body.

"I'm coming brother…" And with those final words she died in a puddle of her own blood. Faust was absolutely livid.

"No! You can't die! You can't! I won't lose you too! I won't lose another! I can fix this! I can fix this… I can…" He started sobbing, but still tried in vain to save the now lifeless Pirka.

"Look Faust, she's dead."

"Nein! I'll stitch her back together, restart her heart! She will live!"

"She's lost too much blood!"

"Then I'll give her mine!" He took the knife from her pale hands and sliced his arm, pressing it to her open wound. Everyone gasped. Ryu jumped up and grabbed Faust, restraining him.

"Stop this! Just accept she's dead. She can't come back."

Faust managed to push Ryu away.

"How do you know that? When you haven't let me try? How do you know?"

Ryu shook his head.

"I don't. But she wanted to die. Even if you brought her back, she would still be dead mentally. Besides, you'd die in the process of giving her blood. She lost too much…"

"No… I can't just give up! I can't! I…I… I couldn't save my dearest Eliza, and now I can't save her! But I can't 'just accept' this! Death is _my_ war. I will not accept defeat." And with that he stalked off to his room.

"I don't know whether to admire him, or be absolutely terrified…" Ren said after a while.

"Me either…" Manta agreed.

"How long do you think he'll be like this?" Ryu asked nervously.

"I think we should worry about Pirka and HoroHoro…" Yoh stated slowly.

Ren, Ryu and Manta sighed.

"You're right."

"We could put them in Anna's room for a while…"

"But who's going to take them?"

"I'll take Pirka." Ren announced.

"Then I'll take HoroHoro…This is going to leave quite a few nightmares after this is all over…" Ryu decided.

"If we live that long…" Manta said wearily.

"Come on! Don't talk like that!" Ryu shouted as he walked down the steps, gradually disappearing from sight.

Ren gently picked Pirka up, slowly walking to Anna's room. He gently set her down, closed her eyes, and covered her with a sheet. A few moments later Ryu did the same with her brother.

"I hope they're together, wherever they are."

They left the room in silence.

They rejoined their remaining friends to think of what to do next, so far everything else had failed. Miserably.

"I'm beginning to think this person, or whatever it is, won't stop until we're all dead… It's systematically killing us all, one by one…"

"We should leave here then!" Manta suggested vehemently.

Ren shook his head.

"It would be wiser not to."

"What!"

Yoh nodded.

"Ren's right Manta, we should stay here. It would most likely follow us, putting everyone we meet in danger. It's wiser to just face it here."

"Well yeah…But we don't know if it's going to follow us! Like Faust said, we won't know until we try!"

Yoh frowned.

"But do you want to take the risk of causing innocent deaths?"

"Well, no but-"

He was interrupted by Faust's door slamming open. He brushed past them all, not even giving them a passing glance. He threw the outside door open, stepped out, and then slammed it shut loudly.

"What was that about?"

"I think he might have gone outside to think things over…"

"That's good for us; I don't think I can stand knowing he's like this for much longer…" Ren paused. "I think I'll go back to my room now that he's outside…"

"Okay, later Ren…"

Ren nodded to Yoh and left.

As soon a he opened his door, he knew something was wrong. He could feel it. Watching him… Ren scowled. He knew it was _him_ all along. But how had he slipped back inside? The windows were too small for a grown man to fit through… And before he could shout for help, he was grabbed from behind.

"How?" He tried to get out but failed.

His attacker said nothing, breaking his neck sharply. Blood filled Ren's throat, but it couldn't get out. He tried breathing, but he only succeeded in inhaling a large amount of his own blood.

'Perhaps it wasn't Faust then…' Was his last thought as he drifted into the darkness that is death.

/----------------------

"Did you hear something?"

"No…"

Manta shook his head as well.

Yoh shrugged.

"Must have been my imagination then…"

"But you can't be too sure…" Faust pointed out as he walked back into the house. I thought I heard something from the other end of the hall…" He looked around. "It must have been Ren… Right?"

"Are you feeling better now?" Ryu questioned.

"Durchaus feines danke." Faust answered in German.

"Eh?" Ryu was confused.

"Oh, quite fine thanks… Sorry… It's hard to switch from thinking in German to speaking in Japanese…" Faust smiled a bit.

"That's good." Ryu said, glad for his friend's now stable mind. Or at least, _he_ thought it was.

"Maybe someone should check on Ren… I mean, just in case…" Manta suggested nervously.

Faust smiled slightly.

"Perhaps it would be better for someone besides me to check this time, yes?" He shivered a little, remembering the last time.

Yoh stood up, sighing lightly.

"I'll go…"

As Yoh walked down the hall he began to get a bad feeling. Like he usually did when something was wrong, like the time he went to Anna's room… He shook his head. It was probably still that anyway. But just to be safe…

"Ren?" He called, "Are you in there?" He got no response. "Ren? Are you okay?" He still received no reply, the room was silent. Yoh looked back to the other three. "He's not responding!" He yelled, turning back to face Ren's door.

"Not…Responding? Oh dear…" Faust had a sad and worried expression on his face.

"You don't think…He's…You know…?" Manta asked fearfully.

Yoh shook his head again sadly.

"There's only one way to find out…" Yoh slowly pushed the door open, ready for whatever could lie in wait. He wasn't ready though, for what happened when the door opened fully. Ren's mangled body had been leaning against the door, so it tumbled out into the hall, landing at Yoh's bare feet. He jumped up with a yell, the blood staining his bare feet and the whole area around Ren's lifeless body.

The other three jumped up after hearing his startled cry, fearing that the worst had happened. Their fears were confirmed as they saw the end of the shadowed hall.

"Oh no… not Ren… How did this happen?" Yoh said in shock as he stared blankly at the blood that was slowly, yet ever so steadily making its way to him.

Manta thought for a moment.

"Hey wait a minute… Faust, you were the only one we couldn't see… Maybe it wasn't one of the ghosts!" He exclaimed.

Ryu stared at him.

"What are you implying, exactly?"

Yoh paid no attention to the conversation, just staring off into the sea of red that had been Ren's life.

"I'm implying that _you_," Manta jabbed a finger at the surprised doctor, "killed him!"

"What? I wouldn't do that!" Faust exclaimed, disbelieving that one of his 'friends' would be that quick to blame.

"Yeah! He wouldn't! Besides, even if he did, which he didn't," Ryu added with a glance at Faust, "How did he do it?"

Manta stared into the still room, ignoring the body for a while.

"The window." He said after a minute or two, pointing to the far wall, at the small window that resided there. "He came in through the window."

"He couldn't fit through _that_ window! It's too small!"

"It makes sense though, doesn't it? He gets mad at Ren, goes outside so he has an alibi, then sneaks back in to kill him!"

Faust was speechless at that, his mouth agape.

"It's impossible! I'm telling you, he can't fit through that window!" Ryu was nearly yelling, not believing his short friend at all.

Manta sighed in annoyance.

"Look, there's one way to find out. We'll get him to do it again."

Ryu glared at him.

"Hey! How do you he did it the first time?"

Faust broke in at last, pushing Ryu back.

"Stop Ryu. I'll do it." He looked to Manta, expecting challenge. When he received none he continued. "But I'm telling you, there is no way I went through that window. I didn't even go near it!" He finished as he walked to the outside door, Ryu and Manta trailing behind. He reached the window in question, and as he said, there were no foot prints leading to it. In fact, the footprints were all in a circle around the middle of the yard. It was quite obvious that he'd been pacing from the way the grass had been worn down.

"I see your point… But you still have to try."

Faust sighed and did as told. Of course, as expected, he couldn't fit through the very narrow window.

"There. See? I told you."

Manta was still skeptical.

"But that still doesn't rule you out… We should do something about this… We could put you in your room again for a while. It doesn't have a window." He stressed the last part.

Faust was amazed.

"Oh Manta, you used to be so nice… But I guess it's logical… It's instinct after all, to fear what you don't understand… To cast out those you don't trust…" He paused. "However, I guess that's a good idea…"

He followed Manta back into the house without a fuss, a still angry Ryu following the pair. When they reached the room, Manta held the door open as Faust walked inside, Manta giving him a distrusting look.

"Don't come out until we say it's okay!" He exclaimed.

Ryu gave the doctor a pitying look as the door closed behind him. He then turned to help Yoh, who was still sitting there, almost surrounded by blood and practically dead to the world.

Shortly afterwards, Faust became lost in his thoughts again.

'Why is this happening to me? Death seems to follow wherever I go…' He stopped his relentless pacing.

"Unless…" He continued aloud, "It's not following me… It _is _me… But it… It couldn't…"

He thought it over. It could be possible… Just because he didn't remember doing it, doesn't mean that he didn't. The human mind likes to block out intense trauma, pushing it away and burying it deep within one's mind, to make sure that it hopefully never returns. But sometimes it does. Just not this time… Yet.

He tried his hardest to remember; he was now just standing in the center of his room for what seemed like hours. Then, he remembered.

It was him. Every time.

With Anna, he overheard her conversation with Yoh, and something inside him just snapped. Love was not something to use to your advantage! He hid himself in her room, lying in wait and as she came in grabbed her, and just let his emotions become his actions. Faust remembered as he, breathing heavily, pulled his gloves back on, his coat and gloves still their usual pristine white. Nothing out of place. No tell-tale signs. No nothing. Just her body. Lying there. He left.

He remembered the Ainu boy, HoroHoro… His promise of friendship was like a slap to the face. Mocking him. Making a fool of his past, trying to make him feel like dirt. Worse than dirt. He had to make him feel the pain he felt. He wouldn't understand any other way… He slipped down into the basement quietly; he was rather good at detecting the slightest movements of the wood beneath him. He knew exactly when it wanted to creak, knew where to shift his weight to be most silent… He knew exactly where to hang the noose, to catch him in a trap like the rat he was… He wouldn't stay quiet... Still… He needed more than swift painless death… His happiness, he would make a fool of his constant happiness…

Faust had expected the girl to kill herself, to waste her life. Did she not know how precious life is? How could she not? Life is the ultimate gift, the ultimate curse. It gives happiness, but it can also take it away. But, more importantly, Life itself can be taken away. He could have stopped her, if he tried, and he most certainly could have brought her back. Though the others tried to hold him back, it would have been in vain anyway. She deserved to die.

As for the Chinese boy, Ren… Ah yes. He remembered _him_. He who had no trust, did not deserve to be trusted himself. Wasn't that his code? And as for how… He _had_ slipped through the window. As impossible as it seemed, well, impossible for a normal person capable of pain… It was just a matter of moving a few joints past the norm and popping them back into place once inside. Easy. He had to give the boy _some_ credit though, _he_ guessed, above all the others that it was him. Unfortunately for Ren though, he was faster to react, breaking the boy's neck with ease. An ironic end for someone who practically preached the benefits of calcium. He left ever so silently, slipping through the window and jumping back over to his preordained 'pacing spot'. The mystery of the missing footprints solved.

He sighed aloud; all the memories had come back. All of them. They came to haunt him, but strangely enough, they did not succeed. In fact, they did the opposite! They made him realize that what he did was for the best. Life is overrated. That was the one truth. No, that wasn't it. Death is the one truth. Death, above all else, conquers all. Not even love stands a chance. Love is overcome by… Everything… It even says so in one's wedding vows… 'Till Death do we part'… he was like the bringer of Truth. But it was more than that, something deeper, something that…ran in his blood.

His ancestor had this curse, and now it seemed to be passed down to him. He laughed and smiled in a way that would have unnerved anyone who happened to be there to see it.

"I truly _am_ the heir to the Faust line's blood and madness. I am Faust the Eighth."

As soon as he said this, he felt something… Like a breeze had passed through the room. No, through his entire _being_. Power seemed to well up from inside him, like nothing he had ever felt before.

"What is this-" He was cut off by a wave of pain. It was as if someone had stabbed a white hot poker through his soul. Shortly afterward, just as he was recovering, there came another sharp pain, then another. He cried out in the sheer agony of it, no doubt alerting the others. He had curled up in his place on the floor trying suppress this, this… Overload. Had this been what his ancestor had to face? Had he felt just as he did now?

He heard Ryu at the door,

"Faust? Are you okay? Faust? I'm coming in-"

Even in his pained state, the doctor knew he could not allow anyone else in. Not now.

"No!" He cried hoarsely, blood welling up in his throat, making him gasp and cough; he was practically fighting for each breath. Now that was ironic. Wasn't that how Ren died? Maybe the Power had a sick sense of humor. Even though blood was streaming from his mouth, he still managed to laugh. It was the laugh of a madman. Like a loud, shrieking demon of some sort. That too, was ironic. Wasn't that how this all started? All the way back through the centuries, to when the first Faust was alive, did he know that his descendants would be cursed to share the same fate? But why was he thinking about this now? He had long since stopped laughing, opting instead to just lie there curled up, not moving a muscle, except for his shallow, ragged breathing.

All at once he heard a voice.

'Put things right.'

He blinked wearily, still at the mercy of his pain.

'It is up to you Faust VIII… _You_ must stop this once and for all. No more shall this curse be allowed to continue. It shall end here, _today_.'

"Yes. I shall end this…"

Abruptly the pain that had been racking his body ceased. An invisible force seemed to be forcing him up, and he succumbed to its will, standing jerkily. He knew what he had to do. He walked to the door, the smile back on his face once again, despite the trail of blood on his cheek. He walked as jerkily as he had stood, like one of his zombies that he so often brought up. He was like the living dead.

'That's not such a far-fetched idea after all…' He thought detachedly.

Faust opened the door, half suspecting Ryu to be standing there. However, he wasn't there. He was at the table with Yoh and Manta. Faust's eyes narrowed. Manta was the one who betrayed him. Shows how good a 'friend' he really was. Then again, he was always a little leery of him. He supposed it was understandable, but if he had merely allowed him to finish… He might have been tall like he wanted. His head tilted to the side in confusion. What _did_ make him so short? Now he was curious again… And curiosity kills.

He laughed again. He had made his own saying!

The sound caused everyone to turn and look at him.

"I thought I told you to stay in there!" Manta was shocked. He had expected the doctor to just sit there obediently like he would have at any other time.

Ryu was shocked too, for a different reason.

"You weren't okay! You're bleeding!" He looked genuinely concerned. Yoh and Manta, however, just looked creeped out.

Faust looked down, blood dripping slowly to the floor, where a puddle was already forming.

"So I am…" He stated blankly, not looking up again.

Yoh finally spoke up.

"What's wrong? You're acting… weird…"

"Weird is an understatement. What's gotten into you?"

Ryu looked at Manta sternly.

"Don't be so rude! You still don't have proof you know!"

Faust looked up slowly, his head tilted at an angle.

"Oh, it's alright, I've heard worse… But thank you for your… Concern…" the doctor drawled, walking slowly but steadily to the trio. "It seems though, Ryu, that our two friends don't feel the same way…" He stared at Yoh, but especially Manta, his face almost totally devoid of emotion. His eye developed a tick. "Why do you hate me so? I have put that incident in the past…"

Manta started quivering. In anger or fear, no one could tell.

"Well _I_ haven't! It haunts me every time I see you! Every time!" He shrieked, even thinking about it at that very moment.

Faust drew ever closer.

"Oh? And you think I don't have my fair share of haunting experiences? I do believe, that I have over twice as many as you… It's a moot point really."

Manta was speechless.

"Wow, I never thought about that Faust…" Yoh said, staring at his palms, thinking badly about himself. He was just sitting here thinking about himself, how cursed he was, but then as he thought about it, he wasn't really that bad off. Now Faust on the other hand… He had more than just _his_ lifetime of problems… he had all those hundreds of year's worth of problems pushed onto him. And it showed.

"Of course you haven't. You aren't the type who does that unless forced to." Faust sighed. "But yet again, it is no matter."

Now, Faust had long since met the table, but he still hadn't sat down. This was odd, as he rarely missed a chance to sit and become lost in his thoughts.

"Um, Faust, you can sit you know…" Ryu said quietly, worried for his friend. Something was… Off.

Faust looked at Ryu, staring at him for a while, and then sat slowly.

'I could do this differently…' he supposed, deciding how to best plan his next action in his plan to set things right.

"Thank you… I'm a little… tired…" He closed his eyes for a moment, using his senses to search through the house, counting all the bodies, even the moved Ren's. Yes. This would work out nicely. He sent a small trickle of his newly strengthened power to each, feeling them stir, alive, yet not alive.

No one noticed.

He reopened his eyes slowly.

"I see you took care of Ren… He would have appreciated that…"

Manta renewed the murder issue.

"Who are you to talk? You're the one who killed him!"

Faust looked at him disapprovingly.

"Really? I did no such thing… Didn't we prove this? And I can't stay in my room forever you know. I won't sit there and be caged like an animal…" He paused. "Though that's what you wanted wasn't it? To put the dangerous animal somewhere away from you, somewhere it couldn't escape from. So you would be safe. But what if that animal escaped? Just because the rest of its kind acted one way, doesn't mean that one would… But it would be treated just the same…" He trailed off, letting his words sink in as he checked his helpers' positions. Perfect.

First there came a knocking at the door.

"Who could that be?" Ryu asked, after all, hardly anyone ever came up here.

"Beats me…" Yoh said vaguely.

"Well go answer it!" Manta yelled to Yoh.

"Geez Manta, I will, I will!" Yoh got up, walking quickly to open the door, ready to greet the person behind it. Or so he thought.

It was Anna, fresh from the grave, her flesh rotting and caked with dirt. She smiled, revealing a mangled jaw, her bottom teeth split in half, giving Yoh a clear view down her throat… and out of it. Her arms and legs were in their normal positions though.

"Yoh…"

Yoh backed away in fear. Shock and revulsion covered his face.

"A-Anna!"

Everyone's heads jerked up.

"What?"

"Yoh? What do you mean?"

Faust said nothing.

The group then heard a pair of footsteps, coming down the hall, slowly walking towards them. It was Pirka and HoroHoro.

"No…" Manta breathed. "It… It can't be…"

They were holding hands, their rotting eyes now open. Pirka didn't look too bad, though her chest caved in slightly, and blood had dried into her clothes. However, HoroHoro looked even worse than before. His mouth was still set in its parody of a grin, the flesh seemingly ready to fall off at any moment, his clothing and body still shredded, rotting away slowly…

As if that wasn't enough, Ren came out as well. His head was pushed back into place, but his neck had been ripped in the process. No new blood came from the wound. However, the blood seemed to have finally dislodged it self from his lungs, coming up and covering the floor with flecks of blood every time he moved.

Everyone was shocked beyond words, save Faust, who leaned back and smiled.

"Time to set things right…"

Everyone turned to Faust and away from the surrounding horror.

"Y-You did this?"

"Why Faust?"

"Set what right?"

He smiled wider.

"You'll see… You'll see soon enough…" He looked at Manta. "I never did get a chance to finish my… examination of you…"

Manta backed away quickly, but he suddenly stopped, his body stiff.

"What'd you do to him!" Ryu yelled, shocked at his friends' behavior, Yoh was down on his knees, breathing heavily, not quite all there, so he didn't notice the unfolding drama.

Faust was silent for a moment.

"I have… recently acquired some new talents… I think it is all of the Power that has been gathered through the generations, passed down until it was enough to do what needs to be done… It rests on me. It's my responsibility now. I can finally finish what had started…" He looked at Manta. "I have merely taken control of his body."

Manta started to walk forward, in the same jerky manner Faust and his zombies possessed. Faust pulled out one of his many scalpels, pushing Manta down so he could continue where he left off.

"His chest cavity was normal enough… How about his head?" the doctor reached down to position the blade at just the right point to cause minimum damage. After all, he didn't want to hurt his specimen… In one swift motion he had Manta's head split open down the middle. A few more incisions, and he had the boy's brain exposed.

Ryu was too scared to do anything, thinking,

'So this is what he did before?' No wonder Manta is scared stiff of him…'

"Everything seems to be in order here… What could possibly… Ah yes, his bones... Perhaps not enough of the right vitamins?" He quickly stitched Manta's head back together, wiping the blood of his hair, and rested his head back down.

In some vague way, Ryu supposed that Faust was doing this to help… But it just wasn't right! He was sure that Manta could feel pain, even in his controlled state.

"Stop it Faust! This just isn't right!"

Faust looked up from Manta's dissected arm.

"But I'm so close to helping him…" He said plaintively, looking up at Ryu sadly.

"Yes, but you're also hurting him…" Ryu responded just as sadly.

"But-" Faust was interrupted by Yoh.

"No. You aren't helping him at all… Amidamaru!" he called. He waited a few seconds. "Amidamaru?"

Faust smirked.

"Didn't you wonder where all the ghosts got to? I forced them back into their respective items… Amidamaru is in his memorial tablet… Hidden somewhere… I couldn't have anyone see me…"

"What are you saying?" Ryu asked fearing for what he knew was sure to be the answer.

"It was me, Ryu. Every time… It was me. I killed them… They deserved it. Asked for it…"

Yoh's eyes widened.

"What?" Then his eyes narrowed angrily. "Okay, that's it! Amidamaru or not you can't get away with this!" Yoh leaped at Faust, who shook his head, snapping his fingers.

"It's not polite to interrupt people, now is it?"

Anna walked towards Yoh, grabbing him in her now superhuman grip. Yoh struggled to get free, not willing to harm his fiancée so readily. He eventually got out and tried again to reach the doctor who was now just finishing stitching Manta's arm back up.

"It's such a waste… I almost had it…"

"I'll let you have it!" Yoh yelled, even as he dodged his undead friends.

"Nothing can stop this…" Faust whispered.

Yoh hit HoroHoro away with enough force to send him spinning away to the other side of the room.

"They're going to get you…"

Yoh dodged a few more grabs from Pirka and Ren.

"It's inevitable…"  
They now surrounded him. It seemed hopeless.

"Don't worry, you'll still be useful… Now… Strip the flesh from his bones!"

Yoh's eyes widened with shock again.

'Did he really mean it?'

He found out quickly enough.

His dead friends closed in, grabbing him painfully, tearing at him and making him cry out. The pain was nearly unbearable. He struggled to break free, only succeeding in making his injuries worse. Blood was everywhere. Dully, he realized it was his. He looked at his body. On his arms and legs, he was missing enough flesh that he could see his own blood streaked bones poking through. He was missing a lot of skin everywhere else, and what he wasn't missing was stained red. His vision began to falter; everything was becoming hazy and unfocused. He swayed a bit before falling to the floor, stone dead.

A second later, he got back up, ready and waiting to do Faust's bidding. Faust smiled; his plan was coming along nicely. He sent Frankie to retrieve the only thing he was missing. Funny… Wasn't that how all of this started? When he first met Yoh… He looked over at Yoh's bloody corpse. Yes. He was the one who had heard Frankie the first time. It was a pity he couldn't hear him now, his toes clacking against the floor, each step loud enough to echo through the hallway. Eventually he brought it back, and Faust took it gratefully, feeling its weight in his hands. Yes, his necromancy staff. The very one that had been passed down through the family for generations, never used again until now. And hopefully never again… But he could enjoy this for the moment. After all, there was work to do…

A voice broke into his reverie.

"Why Faust? Why are you doing this?"

Faust turned to him slowly, holding the blade so it pointed at Ryu. If it dropped… Ryu would die. Ryu noticed this.

"Why? Because it's like instinct. I have to get rid of all my ties to this life… I have to… It's like an organ transplant you know? My friends… I got this new, better life, but my body rejected it. My blood refused to take them in. I could not allow this curse to continue. I couldn't!"

Ryu frowned.

"So were you lying about Eliza then?" He asked in disbelief.

Faust eyes widened and he began rocking slowly where he stood, shaking his head.

"No…No… I could never… She was my life… All that I lived for… But know I suppose it was for the best… Eliza had to die in the grand scheme of things… At least I didn't have to kill her myself… I suppose she was doomed from the moment I loved her… But the power could not allow the line to continue…"

Ryu frowned.

"Why not? I mean, other than the whole demon's curse thing…"

Faust stared off blankly for a long moment, finally replying,

"The Power would have killed them. It builds up; it's passed through our bloodline… It's peak is in me." He looked down at the blood that had begun to cake on his body. "I would imagine that any more… And I would have been ripped to pieces… I have to stop this power… use it all… I have to stop this…"

"Look, Faust, you're talking nonsense! You'll go to Hell if you keep doing this!"

Faust laughed dryly with a sad expression.

"I've been doomed to Hell for as long as I have lived. I have earned it by birthright, I suppose… After all, we of the Faust line have not yet given Mephistopheles his soul…"

Ryu shook his head, not believing that his friend had just accepted that fate. How could anyone be content with that? More importantly, _why _would anyone want to be content with that?

"What do you mean, 'haven't yet given Mephistopheles his soul?' Is that part of this?"

Faust stared at him, no emotion on his face whatsoever. It was like he had momentarily died. Ryu had never seen such a total lack of emotion before, on _anyone_.

"The original Faust could not escape the simple fact that in order to do what he wanted, he had to give his soul as payment. He managed to avoid doing so, but suffered a violent and bloody death as consequence. No one else has wanted to give up theirs either. It rests on me to pay the blood toll and give Him my soul. It is inevitable. I can't change this… I don't want to change this." Faust's voice spoke as if it were a machine, merely repeating what it had heard.

Ryu was shocked; his voice was filled with emotion as he spoke.

"But why? Why you?"

"Face it Ryu… My line has been doomed to this fate, and it will continue for all eternity if it is not erased from the earth now. Today."

Behind the two, Manta began to stir.

"Wha-" He was cut off by an anguished scream of pain and terror, one that seemed to well up from his very core. He felt every stitch, every cut. He felt the blood, the stiffness of his body. Was this what rigor mortis was like? But then the stiffness vanished. If only it had taken the pain too…

"Manta, it seems you are in pain… Do you want it to end?"

"End… What?" He managed to gasp out.

"All of it. The pain, the suffering… this life… I can end it. Once and for all…"

"What? Faust! What are you saying?" Faust ignored Ryu.

"One clean cut, and it's all over. You won't feel a thing, I can promise you that…" He took a syringe from his pocket.

"Morphine… I'll give some of this. Usually I wouldn't… But desperate times call for desperate measures, yes?" Faust gave Manta a full dose, the amount he usually took for himself. Manta was instantly out of it. His head lolled to the side.

"What did you do to him? Manta? Manta! Can you hear me?"

Manta turned to him slowly.

"Ryu? I can't feel it Ryu… I can't…" He smiled.

"What are you saying?" Ryu asked worriedly, he didn't want to lose another friend.

But Manta didn't reply, merely smiling. A smile full of peace, happiness, relief… A smile that lingered on after death. Strangely, Manta didn't seem to notice the fact that the life was quickly draining from his body. He just laid there, blood gushing from his new gaping wound.

'A wound from the very doctor that tried to help him…' Faust thought, laughing out loud due to the sheer irony of it all. The same mad, shrieking laughter that came from the core of his very being, striking terror into the hearts of those who heard it. But he instantly sobered, stopping almost as quickly as he had started. He turned to Ryu slowly. For the first time since Yoh died, his eyes welled up with tears. Ryu looked back, too shocked to move.

Faust brought down his blade swiftly, meaning to end Ryu's life as quick and as painlessly as he could. Ryu got control of his body in just barely in time to scramble out of its path. Faust's tears flowed freely now. He stood still, leaving his blade lodged in the floor as he trembled.

"Ryu… Why won't you let me end this? You know I don't want to hurt you…" Faust cringed. "But I have too!" He cried pathetically, looking up at Ryu, who was backed up into a corner, but ready to run at any moment, should the need arise.

Ryu was absolutely terrified. He knew that Faust was right, but he still didn't want to die. He could also tell that Faust truly didn't want to kill him. Ryu reached forward.

"You don't… You don't…" He tried to find the right words to say. In his momentary silence, Faust raised his weapon again, swinging it through the air towards Ryu's neck. Ryu managed to duck in time, hurriedly crawling under the table, hoping that Faust wouldn't notice. And Faust didn't. He had swung his blade too strongly, and it's weight threw off his balance. He fell to the floor with a sharp cry of sadness, staying still for a few tense moments.

All at once though, Faust cried out again, this time in pain. His body became wracked with spasms which soon stopped and left his muscles limp. Ryu feared for his friend's life, but he wasn't about to give up his hiding spot… Faust then rose once more, but Ryu noticed something odd. Faust moved even weirder than before. His body moved jerkily one second, then extremely limply the next. And his eyes… Ryu gasped silently. They glowed a sickly green color.

'Is he possessed by his energy?' Ryu thought that there was no other explanation for Faust's newest behavior. He was ever gladder to have found a good place to hide. Whatever possessed Faust made him turn around, searching for the prey that had gotten away. It shouldered the blade easily, wandering into the hall, searching.

'Searching for _me._' Ryu realized grimly.

Faust stood still for almost a minute, before slowly motioning for Frankensteiny to help. Even if he was dead, that must not have taken away his sense of smell, for Frankie found him easily. Ryu shrank away from the deceased dog, never noticing just how revolting he was close up. He wondered how Faust could live with this… this… _thing_ as his best friend. Ryu become conscious of the fact that if he didn't get away soon, he wouldn't have any time to think about _anything_.

He saw Faust's boots draw near, then heard the rustle of Faust's coat as he raised his blade in preparation to bring it down. When he did, Ryu rolled over, narrowly avoiding the blow, however the table didn't, and was chopped nearly in two, splinters flying everywhere. Ryu struggled out from under the broken table, rising to his feet and making a mad dash for the door. Faust's possessed body moved faster, cleanly decapitating the teen before he could open it.

Ryu noticed a sharp pain in his neck before he got a good view of the ceiling, his body… and Faust. What had once possessed the doctor now left, leaving Faust drained and with an extremely saddened look to his eyes. It was a look of utter dejection. The saddest a human being could ever get. But the room went dark and Ryu saw no more.

Faust sank to his knees, dropping his staff with a great clatter, his eyes still filled with their extreme sadness. To have to murder the one you love is the worst pain that could ever be dealt to the heart. He watched as Ryu's hand went limp around the doorknob, eventually falling with the rest of his body. A body which would move no more. Faust let out a loud wailing cry of misery, which echoed throughout the room, the building… the very fiber of the universe. Faust then hastily grabbed his staff, and plunged the blade through his chest, instantly destroying his heart. He smiled, finally at peace with himself as he closed his eyes in death. Funny, he had surrendered to the one thing he had been at war with since the day he was born. The one thing that he had once said would never conquer him…

'But today it did… And now the war is over…' was his last dying thought as he succumbed to the nothingness, the staff still stuck through him. All at once, every corpse that he had under his control fell, all of the power rapidly dissipating. Frankie was the last to drop, falling to a mere pile of bones at his master's side.

Faust's soul slowly rose from his body, creeping upwards before coming to a stop and hovering. The room darkened to the point of absolute absence of light. The demon Mephistopheles, who had been watching everything, materialized once more before a Faust, finally getting his payment. He smiled cruelly; he had enjoyed his little 'show'.

He grabbed the soul with a hissing whisper of,

"At last…" before he disappeared completely, taking his shadows with him. He left the inn in flames, a rather fitting fate, yet ironic too. The En Inn becoming consumed by its own namesake. It almost appeared to be some kind of monstrous funeral pyre.

When the population of the city finally noticed, there was nothing that could be done. No matter how much water was poured onto the building, the flames could not be quenched. Strangely enough, they didn't spread. They merely burnt the building, leaving absolutely nothing that told of the macabre happenings inside. Even the skeletons were completely burnt, nothing but charred ash that was indistinguishable from the rest of the building's remains.

It would become just another news story, another abandoned house going up in flames. Nothing special. Everything was just as it should be. The sun came out and lit up the cloudless sky. It was the first perfect day in weeks. And it was like the whole world breathed a sigh of relief… The curse had been lifted.

END

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Yay! I finished it! Finally! Please review! Hope You liked it! And if you see any mistakes, (no matter how small), Please let me know. It will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. bows 


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